Lounge Area.


    The buffet was getting crowded, and Yvonne couldn''t help but worry about Ste. After all, this wasn''t the time for any idents.


    She guided Ste over to a quieter spot filled with plush couches and said, "Hang tight here, I''ll grab you a te."


    Ste just blinked at her, a little speechless.


    At home, Yvonne was always the one telling her what she could and couldn''t eat.


    But before Ste could protest, Yvonne was already weaving back through the crowd. Ste sat down, pulling her cardigan tighter around her.


    The room was afortable temperature, but ever since the pregnancy, she always seemed to feel cold.


    She still had Ronald''s scarf looped around her neck-he''d insisted on giving it to her earlier.


    A server approached with a ss of water. Ste took it, smiling politely. "Thank you."


    "Would you like anything to eat, ma''am? Snack table''s just over there," he offered, gesturing.


    "No, thanks," Ste replied. "My sister''s getting something for me."


    He nodded and disappeared, leaving her alone.


    Ste nced at the water but set it down untouched. Then she pulled out her phone. Susanna had texted:


    [Star, remember how I said I''d propose to Hull and he never said yes? So why am I suddenly getting all the perks? Is it just that he wants me for my body? Like, no strings attached?]


    Ste nearly snorted out loud.


    Okay... that was one way to look at it. Her mind, already a little foggy, felt even more scrambled.


    She honestly had no idea what was actually going on between Hull and Susanna. The whole living-together situation? Still a mystery.


    Especially when Susanna started in with the "he just wants my body" line-Ste couldn''t help rolling her eyes.


    She shot back:


    [I don''t think Hull is just after your body.]


    Susanna replied almost instantly:


    [Why not?]


    Ste hesitated.


    [Don''t ask me, I really don''t know.]


    Being blunt would offend her, but sugar-coating it just felt awkward. Best to say nothing.


    Susanna was relentless:


    [So you''re saying I''m not hot enough? Not pretty enough?]


    Ste''s head thumped against the back of the couch. After a moment, she typed:


    [Compared to the girls Hull usually dates... yeah, kinda.]


    Susanna went silent.


    Well, at least she''d stopped texting.


    But before Ste could rx, she caught the sound of voices drifting closer, unmistakably talking about her.


    "Hey, did you hear about the adopted daughter from the Quinn family and Mr. Quinn? Why would Lottie approve? I mean, she practically raised that girl-she''s basically her daughter. And now with her own son? How does that even work?"


    Ste went stiff, her jaw tightening.


    She remembered what Yorick had said on the phone: “Look at all the people talking about you. It''s not just the Quinns they all judge you."


    He was right. Even in a ce as "open-minded" as Ferrond, not everyone epted her rtionship with Ronald.


    The whispers continued as the two women settled onto a nearby sofa.


    "I''m telling you," one said, lowering her voice, "what if that adopted girl is actually Lottie''s illegitimate daughter from some old affair?”


    "No way," the other gasped.


    "Why else would she be so supportive? Poor Mr. Quinn, right? And who even knows what really happened three years ago when he died?"


    "You know, Melissa from the Norton family was supposed to marry Mr. Quinn. She''s had a crush on him since high school, but the adopted girl swooped right in."


    "And Lottie always doted on her. Maybe Mr. Quinn was the real outsider, you know? Lottie picked up her ''adopted'' daughter from school every day-never did that for her son."


    "Mr. Quinn got the short end of the stick. Can you imagine marrying someone like that? Even before, people said Lottie and that guy had a thing going on."


    With so few people nearby, they were growing bolder-and nastier. Now they were dragging the whole Quinn family through the mud.


    Ste''s eyes narrowed. She set her phone carefully in her purse, stood up, and picked up the ss of water she hadn''t touched.


    She walked straight toward the two women, who were still too busy gossiping to notice her approach.


    Just as Yvonne returned with a te of food, she watched, wide-eyed, as Ste calmly tipped the entire ss of water over one woman''s perfectly styled head.


    The water was still warm, and the woman let out a piercing shriek. "What the hell


    is wrong with you? Who do you think you are?!"


    Yvonne stood there, stunned.


    She''d been wrong-her Star was no fragile hothouse flower.


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!